Falling cable injures 10 NASCAR fans in Charlotte (w/video)

CONCORD, N.C. — Kevin Harvick thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. Surely, he told himself as he drove by the front stretch, that can’t be a cable hanging down on the track.

“I saw this streak go by me and I’m like, ‘What in the (heck) was that?'” Harvick said after winning the Coca-Cola 600 for the second time in three years on Sunday.

The race was stopped nearly 30 minutes at one point when a TV camera support rope snapped and landed on the track and in the grandstands. There were 10 people hurt, according to Charlotte Motor Speedway. Three were taken to hospitals, and have been treated and released.

The race stopped suddenly a little over a quarter of the way into the long event after the nylon rope snapped in the first turn. The cars were brought into the pits and cleanup crews coiled up the long sections of rope as if they were putting away a garden hose. Drivers were allowed back to their pit stalls and crews given 15 minutes to assess and fix damage caused by the failure.

Fox Sports announcer Chris Myers apologized to fans and drivers several times for the delay and problems.

In a statement, Fox said it had suspended use of the overhead camera indefinitely. It said drive rope that moves the camera back and forth failed and it had no immediate reason why.